Swordsman of Mizuho
by Taitachi
Summary: This is what may have happened if Kratos, Anna and Lloyd had been attacked in Gagorrachia forest instead of Iselia forest. Behold Lloyd Fujibayashi, the Swordsman of Mizuho! reviews and input are most wanted
1. Chapter 1

_Swordsman of Mizuho_

By: Taitachi

This is my first ToS fic so I would appreciate you (the reader's) input. Alright on with the story! (I do not own Tales of Symphonia and/or it's scenarios and characters)



The under brush clawed and scratched at him as he dashed through the dimly lit confines of Gagorrachia forest. His breathing was heavy and his mind was in turmoil.

_'How the hell had Kvar found them!? They had purposely slipped into Tetha' alla hoping to elude him, so how had he discovered their location!?' _

This thought kept pounding through his head as he desperately searched for his wife and son. He had sent them on ahead when they had been attacked by Kvar's men, while he stayed behind to fend of their pursuers.

_'They should be around here somewhere!'_ He internally cursed himself for not having been here in centuries to review the terrain.

He was broken out of his thoughts when he heard a cry from the bushes to his left, a group of Desians jumped out and came at him. Drawing his sword faster then lightening he struck them down just as fast, the blood trickling down the edge.

"Sorry, I don't have time for you."

And with that Kratos plunged back into the darkness of Gagorrachia forest, intent on finding his loved ones.



Kazuma (because I cant remember his name or he doesn't have one) Fujibayashi, Chief of Mizuho, along with Tiga and other ninja of Mizuho, sped through the canopy of Gagorrachia forest. One of their sentries in the surrounding area had reported a disturbance within the forest and ninja were quickly sent out to investigate. Dropping through the trees, they arrived at what appeared to be a battlefield. Bodies lay strewn everywhere and the ground was scorched black. The corpses wore clothing similar to that of the Renegades, a mysterious group that had appeared in Tetha' alla not long ago but remained hidden from the public's eye.

Kazuma began to call out orders, "Alright, search the surrounding area for survivors an-"

"Sir!! Over here!!"

Urgent cries cut in and Kazuma and the rest of the group dashed over to where the shouts emanated. There, stretched out on the ground, was the grievously wounded body of a large humanoid shaped monster.

"Is it some kind of demon?" Whispers of speculation ran through the gathered crowd of ninja.

Kazuma alone stepped forward to inspect the creature. However as he reached for it the creature suddenly rose up and began to flail it's arms wildly, forcing the ninja to maintain a safe distance. Tiga looked towards Kazuma.

"Your orders, sir?"

Before Kazuma could decided a raspy, feeble voice of a women reached his ears.

"Heeelp..."

The gathered ninja were shocked to find that the voice was coming from the creature

itself.

" Pleeeeaaase, heeeeelp meee...!"

The creature was bent over in pain and it's voice was growing more distant and weak. Warily, Kazuma approached.

"There now, take it easy, what happened to you?"

"Desians...attack...exsphere...activate...son hidden...help.."

The creature doubled over in pain and fell to the ground. Kazuma supported the creature as it layed were in fell.

"Please hang on. Tiga get the medics out here!"

"Sir are you sure that is a good idea? What if this creature is a -"

"Tiga this creature is obviously a victim, get the medics here now!!"

"Ye-es Sir!"

And with that Tiga dashed off back to the village with some of the ninja, the rest stood around the creature and listened as it conversed with their chief.

"Now, please start from the beginning, why are you like this? What's your name?"

The creature took in great shuddering breaths as it answered.

"My name is Anna Aur cough, my husband and I were cough traveling through the forest with our baby boy cough when the Desians attacked. My husband Kra cough stayed to fight the Desians and sent me and our son on ahead with Noishe cough, but the Desians were catching up. I sent Noishe ahead with Llo cough. I stayed to delay them but they activated my exsphere and I turned into what you see before you cough. "

Anna began coughing violently, the last of her blood draining away. Kazuma could sense the woman's life fading rapidly, urgently he asked, "Where is your son now?"

Seconds passed slowly before Anna answered "Noishe is close, Lloyd is with him cough."

"Lloyd, is that you son's name?"

"Yes, it is. And when he is old enough give him cough this."

Before Kazuma could stop her Anna ripped off the exsphere that was imbedded in her arm. Kazuma could only watch on as Anna slowly died and uttered her death wish.

"Please, keep Lloyd safe..please..."

The body of Anna began glowing. Sensing the unstable mana, the ninja jumped back as the body exploded, showering them with earth. Gazing at the bloodied ruby orb in his hand Kazuma ordered his men to begin searching for the child.



Kratos was desperate now, he could find no trace of Anna, Lloyd or Noishe anywhere, and it was growing dark fast. Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves he tried using his angel senses. Still nothing. He once again began his search. It was completely dark when he reached the area where Anna died. It took only moments to know what had become of his beloved wife. At first Kratos could only stare in numb disbelief at the spot where his wife had passed away. All thoughts of Lloyd and Noishe fled from his mind as one thought repeated it self. _"Anna was dead." _A fever began to spread through Kratos's body and he felt as if he were choking. _"Heavens no...not my wife..."_ Slowly he sagged to his knees, tears dropping to the forest floor. And then, like some broken animal, he screamed to the star strewn heavens above.



Kazuma looked down at the bundled child he held cradled in his arms. Brown locks tumbled down over peach skin and brown eyes. Kazuma could only ponder at what the child's father must have been like, assuming he was dead. Kazuma found this twist of fate rather ironic.

'_This makes two children Mizuho has taken in from Gagorrachia forest._' he thought with a mirthful smirk. He couldn't wait to see what his adopted granddaughter would think of her new baby brother.

Because of Kazuma's burden, he and some other ninja's returned to Mizuho just as night fell. As they entered the village, many gazed at the second child from Gagorrachi, though Kazuma excepted that it was also because of the green and white...dog, that was with them. When they had found the child, they were surprised to see that Noishe was not a person at all but was instead a large-eared green and white dog. It took nearly half a hour before the creature trusted their good intentions. Kazuma stopped in the center of the village as all of it's inhabitants gathered, and of course the child (who was sleeping at the moment) was passed around to all the mothers of the village who squealed at the young child (as all mothers generally do, I speak from experience). The men poked and prodded Noishe wondering (as one young man put it) "What the hell is this?!" When the child went full circle and Noishe was relieved from further analysis, Kazuma reiterated the story to the villagers. Afterwards, Kazuma declared that he would take in the child (much to the disappointment of the mothers).

"But what's his name?", one young lady chirped up.

"Lloyd, his mother said his name was Lloyd. Although I don't know his last name. So for now, he is Lloyd Fujibayashi."

Tiga spoke up at this time "And what of this...thing..." pointing at Noishe.

"I believe that he...or she, his property of Lloyds parents as such...(Noishe thoughts: WHAT??!!) I believe he should stay here." answered Kazuma.

"Don't let them stay here, they're from Gagorrachia! It's bad enough we have Sheena!!"

The crowd parted to show a disgruntled group, mostly superstisous people who believed Gagorrachia brought bad luck.

Kazuma boiled with rage and shouted out at the top of his voice "BE QUIET!! I am chief and I shall decide! Lloyd stays here!!!"

With a huff and a "You'll be sorry" the group dispersed. As for the rest, they headed home for the night, leaving Kazuma with Lloyd and Noishe alone in the twilight. Kazuma glanced to his quadruped companion.

"Shall we go?"

Whine

"I thought so."



Sheens Fujibayashi, age three, sat at her bed room window watching the night sky. Since her grandfather had left this afternoon he had not been back and she was worried. When the door creaked open she was up at a flash and into the entrance hall where her grandfather stood.

"Grandpa!!' With a squeal she latched onto to his leg, much to his chagrin.

"All right, you little ankle biter let go!"

Kazuma playfully tried to shake her off, knowing that was half the reason she did it. When Sheena did finally let go she noticed that her grandfather was gently holding something in his arms.

"Grandpa, wuzzat?" Kazuma smiled down at his little granddaughter, crouching down as he unwrapped the bundle a little.

"This is you new baby brother, Lloyd."

Sheena's eyes grew big with amazement as she watched the little sleeping face.

"Where'd ee come frum?"

"The same place as you, little kunoichi, the forest."

Sheena gasped in amazement.

"Really?"

"Really, really."

For a moment Sheena was deep in thought, then her face broke into a huge childish grin.

"Yay!! I'm gonna luv hm, an hug hm, an nam hm Gorge! Where gonna play, an eat and play an-!"

Kazuma had to hold down his granddaughter to stop her from jumping in excitement.

" Whoa now, there will be time for that later, now go on to bed."

"Yes grandpa, goonite Lloyd."

Kazuma chuckled as his granddaughter sprinted off to bed.

"Now let's find a place for you tonight little one."

Scratch scratch

Before Kazuma could do that though there was a scratching at the door. Just as he opened it to peek outside a green and white blur rushed past. "Noishe, what are you doing?!"

Kazuma hissed in a whisper so as to not alert his granddaughter.

Whine

"No you cant stay in here to night"

Whine whine

And with that, Noishe promptly sat on the floor.

"Noishe!"

Setting aside Lloyd, Kazuma tried to lift Noishe.

"By the spirits, how much do you freaking weigh?!"

Noishe just kept panting happily, his plan succesful.

"Fine, you can stay here tonight."

Whine

"Yeah, yeah , yeah. Just keep quiet."

End of Ch One

**Please, reviews would be most appreciated, I am after all only a rookie writer, and if any of you have constructive criticism, comments, or suggestions please let me know. I would like to thank my editor for looking this over and I thank you very much for reading, now onto Chapter Two! (hopefully it will be done soon)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again every body! Thank you so much for the reviews, it makes a writer happy to know others have thoughts and opinions about their writing and are willing to share. I would like to take a page from other writers and respond to some points brought up by two of you reviewers. First is that Lloyd will be Sheena's adopted brother, but I plan on having their relationship develop into Sheelloyd (if that's ok). Second is that I had no idea Lloyd was three at the time he lost his mother and was separated from Kratos, but yes I did know that Sheena is two years older then him. Third, I had completely forgotten the chief's name so thank you for reminding me that it was Igaguri. Fourth, I don't really want to make Lloyd have a "code name" like Orochi or Kuchinawa, but I suppose Lloyd could be his code name and only Sheena and Igaguri would know his secret name. Fifth, I took the liberty of assuming that since Sheena had been adopted by Igaguri as a child with no name that Igaguri must have named her himself. And finally, I agree that Anna's death dialogue does come across as a bit strange, now that I look at it. All right enough talking! ON TO THE SECOND CHAPTER!! (I do not own Tales of Symphonia and/or it's characters or scenarios).**

_Swordsman of Mizuho_

_Ch 2: Beginning_

By: Taitachi

Sheena sat up in her bed groggily, hair askew. Light filtered in through her window, shadowy designs splayed out across her floor. After stretching and yawning she got up and headed towards her closet. Taking out her attire for the day, she quickly changed and groomed her hair into her customary bun-like thing. She was dressed conservatively in red robes today, even though she wanted to wear the nice ( and in her opinion, cute) pink and purple outfit she had gotten at Meltokio a year ago on her 18th birthday. However, when she first started wearing her purple garb Lloyd had followed her everywhere, claiming that he was making sure that none of the men didn't stare at her "assets". He eventually convinced her (via days on end of annoyance) to wear outfits much like the one she was wearing now. They were nice and durable and almost every ninja wore something similar, but they were to stuffy for her. _Oh well, at least it keeps Lloyd from freaking_ _out. _

Leaving her room Sheena headed for the main room, but before entering she carefully peeked in to see who was up. Tiga sat there reading from a scroll, lost deep in thought. Lloyd of course wasn't up yet. Carefully she tiptoed in, trying to reach her spot before the dreaded words were spoken. _If I just keep quiet enough..._

"Sheena, it's your turn to wake up your brother." _Damn._

"Ugh, are you sure?" _Hey, he's been wrong before._

Without looking up and seemingly from nowhere, Tiga whipped out a chalkboard that had the calendar on it. Every other day was marked either by a "T" or an "S". Finding the date Sheena couldn't help but say aloud her thoughts.

"Double damn."

"Hurry up now, he can't sleep all day."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Man..."

Grumbling quietly to her self she headed towards he brothers room. Stopping just outside his door, she knocked.

"Lloyd time to get up."

Nothing happened.

"Grr.. Lloyd, time to get up!"

Again, nothing.

"Looks like I have to do it the hard way" she grumbled.

And with that, Sheena opened the door and stepped into Lloyd's room. The sight that greeted her would have been funny, if it didn't imply how deep in his sleep Lloyd was. Lloyd, the brown haired seventeen year old, lay sprawled out across his mattress, sheets every which way. But what made this sight most amusing is that Noishe, Lloyd's faithful green companion, was laying curled up against him. Lloyd, of course didn't seem to notice as he snored loudly. _Oh for crying out loud._ Sheena kneeled down and shook Lloyd.

"Lloyd... Hey! Lloyd! Time to get up, pumpkin head." Lloyd, of course, squirmed around and burrowed deeper into his covers.

"Not now Tiga... leave me alone...snore."

Anger, "Idiot! I'm not Tiga! Now wake up!"

And with that, Sheena pried Lloyd away from dream world with a well placed punch to the head. Meanwhile in the main room, Tiga sat quietly reading his scroll about who knows what, listening to the chaos brought on by the siblings in the morning.

"So peaceful.."



A minute later the Fujibayashi siblings were seated and eating their breakfast. Lloyd of course had neglected to get change out of his sleep wear, while Noishe ate from a dish in the corner. After breakfast Sheena headed out for her early morning practice with Kuchinawa.

"Bye Lloyd!! Bye Tiga!! See ya later!!"

"Have a nice day," was Tiga's response while her brother's was some sort of muffled farewell coming from his room.

It was a cool morning and on the horizon the sun was rising in it's red and gold glory. The wind blew softly through the trees and the creek that ran through the middle of the village gurgled happily on it's way. As Sheena walked along the dirt path to the training fields on the outskirts of the village, she couldn't help but feel a sense of happiness.

When she did arrive to the training fields, little more than bare clearings, she found that Kuchinawa wasn't there yet.

Tensing, Sheena looked around, "This is odd..."

Suddenly a knife flew out of no where, sticking into the ground in front of her.

"RAIDEN!!"

With that a bolt of lighting struck the knife, causing Sheena to fly backward from the power of the attack. Up in the trees that surrounded her a male voice called out.

"You must be prepared for that Sheena! Or perhaps you aren't concentrating enough?"

Dusting herself off, she sat up.

"Hey, that wasn't fair, Kuchinawa!"

A red blur flew from the trees and landed in front of her. Sheena could tell that behind that shinobi mask he was wearing a cheshire grin.

"Maybe. But like I said, you have to be prepared. You don't want to die on a mission from some careless mistake, do you?"

Sheena groaned, "No."

"Good."

Kuchinawa walked over to her and helped her up with his armored arm. Stepping back a couple paces, he drew his knife.

"Are you ready?"

"Of course."

Drawing her charmed cards she got into stance. And with that they began.



Meanwhile our favorite swordsman was getting dressed for his day of training. Much like his sister, he too donned the custom shinobi attire, which had a faded red color to it. He strapped his two katanas to his waist and his shuriken holster to his mid thigh. Unlike his sister Lloyd preferred to use actual weapons instead of "pieces of flimsy paper", at least in his own words. Reaching the door with Noishe by his side he turned around to bid farewell to the rooms only conscious occupant.

"Hey Tiga, I'm headed out now!!"

"Have nice day Lloyd, don't do anything too reckless."

"Who, me? That's nonsense!" Closing the door behind him, Lloyd hurried to his training field which was on the opposite side of the village from his sister's.

"Man, I hope I'm not late! Otherwise Orochi-sensei will make me run laps around the village again! I guess I'd better pick up the pace, come on Noishe!"

Whine

Reaching the practice field out of breath but in record time Lloyd breathed a sigh of relief. Leaning against a tree, Lloyd took the time to catch his breath.

"Man..huff... that...huff... was... a close one."

"Your telling me, you nearly beat your record."

"Ack!!"

Lloyd quickly hopped away from the tree. From the shadow's cast by it's leaves a blue figure appeared.

"Oh Orochi-sensei, I didn't see you there. Heh...heh.."

"I figured as much. By the way... Lloyd..."

Lloyd slowly began backing up.

"Um... yes, sensei?"

As if he had teleportation powers, Orochi appeared in front of his student and dealt a lethal punch to the chin. Lloyd flew high up into the sky and vanished as a tiny dot. One minute later he came crashing back down to earth. Orochi leaned over the crater formed by his student's mediocre space flight.

"Your late."

Slowly, Lloyd crawled out of the crater. Rising he patted the dirt off his attire and out of his hair.

"Sorry sensei. It won't happen again."

Orochi crossed his arms.

"Right, and the sun won't rise in the morning."

Lloyd pointed accusingly.. "Hey, it could happen!"

Orochi rolled his eyes. 'That's doubtful. Have you been practicing?"

Lloyd quickly responded and stood to attention. "Hai!"

"Alright then, show it to me."

Orochi stepped to the side as his pupil moved to the center of the training field. Getting into stance, Lloyd took a deep calming breath, focusing on the movement of the attack. Then...

"HELL RUSH!!"

Moving forward, Lloyd let out a ferocious series of kicks, punches, jabs and slashes, finishing off the sequence with an upper cut from one of his blades. Breathing heavily from the effort of the task, Lloyd listened as his teacher critiqued his work.

"You did better Lloyd. Now try it again."

"Oh man."



It was about midday when Sheena returned to the house. Tiga was out doing his duties and Lloyd wouldn't be back for much later. This was the only time during the day when she could spend some quiet time with her grandfather. She removed her shoes at the front door and entered the main room. Across the room from the door was a area partition off by a curtain, this was her destination. She walked over to the partition and sat down, slowly she drew back the curtain and examined the worn face of her unconscious grandfather. Strong and weathered, her Grandfather had remained a pillar of strength during her childhood. Sheena heaved a sigh, it had been nine years since that incident.

"If only I had been able...you wouldn't..." Sheena spoke quietly to him, though it was mostly to herself. She had long ago accepted the blame for her grandfather's current condition and the deaths of the ninja who had accompanied her to that place. Everyone told her differently, but the pain of knowing that her inability caused the death of some of the villagers, and her grandfather to fall into a catatonic state caused her to blame herself. She still remembered the day...

_Flash back_

_She was ten then. She had been learning the summoning arts since age six and that day was supposed to be the day that she formed a pact with the Summon Spirit of Lightning. Her grandfather, some of the villagers and her waited outside the Tower of Lighting as some of the other ninja cleared out the tower of monsters and disabled the traps. Sheena was nervous, very nervous. She sat near the entrance, going over the pact making steps and the steps to summoning. She wished Lloyd were here to help keep her mind off this gargantuan task, however her younger brother had been left home at Mizuho. Twiddling her thumbs, she didn't notice as her grandfather snuck up behind her and clapped his hands gently over her eyes. _

_"Guess who?"_

_"Silly, its you grandpa."_

_Chuckling her grandfather crouched down to her level._

_"Very good, little kunoichi." _

_Igaguri paused as he noticed the apprehensive look on his granddaughter's face._

_"Come now, little kunoichi, what's the matter."_

_Sheena looked anywhere but at her grandfather as she bit her lip._

_"I...I'm...I'm scared grandpa."_

_Igaguri laughed and put an arm around his granddaughter._

_"Is that all, little kunoichi? Listen to what this old man has to say. Don't let fear enter your mind. You can feel it, yes, but don't let it control you. Don't worry I know you will do fine."_

_Sheena moved closer into her grandfather's embrace._

_"But what if I get a part wrong! Or the summon spirit doesn't like me."_

_"Ha, ha, ha! Again you worry too much, kunoichi, everything will turn out fine."_

_At that moment, the ninja returned from the temple._

_"Sir, we have cleared the temple and disarmed the traps."_

_Standing up, Igaguri addressed the group that had remained outside the tower. _

_"All right then. Tiga, your group stays here, I shall take Sheena and the temple team."_

_"Yes sir."_

_Igaguri looked down at Sheena._

_"Ready?"_

_"Hai."_

_Stepping forward they entered the dark confines of the tower._

_End Flashback_

Sheena was broken from her thoughts by a sound at the door. Turing around she saw Tiga standing in the doorway.

"You know, as a shinobi you should know to never let your guard down."

"So I'm told."

Rising, Sheena studied her grandfather's face a moment longer before closing the curtain.

"You shouldn't grieve so much. When Igaguri wakes up and sees that you are miserable he'll have my head."

"Don't you mean 'if'?" Sheena said dourly.

Tiga sighed. Sheena could become really depressed about this sometimes and he knew he could help her when she was like this. But he knew who could.

"Why don't you go look for your brother? He should be done with training for today."

Wordlessly and with an air of gloom Sheena headed out.



"Where is that idiot?" Sheena grumbled to herself.

She had spent the better part of the early afternoon looking for her brother around the village. Deciding that he must have gone on one of his excursions, she headed toward Gaggorachia. She didn't understand why her brother liked it there, it was dark and it was infested with every sort of monster. He had offered an explanation once, he had said that the dark confines were misunderstood. While it presented a image of gloom and haunting to most, for those who knew it Gaggorachi was a beautiful place. One hour after entering the dark woods Sheena could still not find her brother.

"Where the hell is he? Oh forget this."

Putting her hands together Sheena gathered some of her mana and summoned her faithful companion.

"I summon you, come! Corrine!"

With a puff of smoke Corrine appeared, a small golden, brown rodent like thing with three blue colored tails.

"Hey Corrine, could you go find Lloyd?"

"Sure thing."

And with that Corrine was off and away through the underbrush. Sheena wasn't worried about him being eaten, he was small but she knew he could hold his own. A couple minutes latter Corrine came scampering back.

"Sheena, he is at the Mother Shrine."

"Doy, I should have known he would be there."

Reaching the clearing Sheena spied her brother standing before the said shrine. She understood why he came here, after all this is where his mother died. Shortly after Lloyd had been taken into Mizuho, Igaguri had commissioned the construction of shrine over the sight, to honor the woman's departed spirit. A statue of a woman carrying a child was carved and placed over the spot, and around it was built a simple wooden structure. Skeptics thought that the shrine would be destroyed by monsters, however it seemed that somehow it was actually repelling the monsters, creating a small island of safety within the haunted forest.

Lloyd himself had not visited the shrine that often until recently, he hadn't had a reason to. Sheena believed it had to do with his birthday (if it really was his actual birth date no one knew) that was two months ago. Tiga had decided that it was a good time to tell Lloyd what had happened on the day he came to Mizuho. After Tiga was finished Lloyd became enraged, ready to hunt down the ones responsible for his mothers death. Tiga managed to defuse the situation by telling Lloyd the last bit of information they had gathered that day. They didn't know who did it, only that they looked somewhat like the organization 'Renegades' but operated outside that organizations parameters. Since then Lloyd had been coming to the shrine nearly every single day.

Finally Sheena stepped out from under the trees into the clearing, making her way over to her brother's side. The air around the shrine was still and calm, interrupted only by the occasional bird. Sheena looked at her brother from the corner of her eye. Lloyd was oblivious to her presence, so intent was his focus on the shrine. Sheena finally spoke.

"Tiga sent me to get you."

"I know." Sheena was startled. _''Well, I guess he wasn't totally zoned out after all.'_

Lloyd turned to his sister. His face frowned having noticed his sisters dour mood.

"Hey, are you ok?"

Sheena glanced away, she didn't want Lloyd to know she was upset.

"Nothing."

"Liar. Come on, tell me what's the matter."

Sheena remained silent, her gloom only worsening. Lloyd knew only one thing made her like this. He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around her, gently embracing her.

"How many times have I told you to stop blaming yourself? You know it was Volt's fault, not yours."

Sheena closed her eyes and leaned into her brothers warm embrace.

'That still doesn't help. If only I had been braver, stronger. Then-"

"Ifs don't matter, now does. Besides, what do you think Gramps would say if he saw you like this?"

Sheen knew but it had become part of this routine to answer otherwise.

"What?"

Lloyd answered in his best imitation of their grandfather's voice.

"Quit worrying ya little ankle biter!"

Sheena laughed. Despite how many times Lloyd had done this for her, since **_that_** day, it always made her feel better.

"He'd also say you grew into a big idiot."

Sheena stepped away from her brother, spirits restored.

"Good to see that your humor is back."

Lloyd noticed the dimming light of the sun. He guessed that it must be setting now, creating a portrait of purple, red, orange and pink on the horizon. Bowing in a mock elegant fashion, he gestured toward the trail that lead back to Mizuho through the forest.

"Shall we depart, madam?"

Sheena chuckled and answered in turn.

"Of course, good sir."

Linking arms they walked along the path, continuing their mock 'sophisticated' conversation.

End of Ch. Two

**Sorry it took so long getting the second chapter out, I got addicted to Fire Emblem 6 and couldn't pry myself away. I have also discovered that I am a hypocrite, I hate it when authors don't update for months and yet here I am updating 2 months later. Sigh. **

**I originally intended this chapter to be longer, but I think it would be to long then and would not be consistent with future chapter size. Also the 'Hell Rush' move Lloyd used is stolen from Suzu, the female ninja from Tales of Phantasia. I hope for Lloyd to use most of her moves in the future. Also, I think 'Raiden' is one of Kuchinawa's moves but I am not 100 sure. I don't think I will have chapter three out for at least two to three weeks due to a trip I am taking to Atlanta which will take up my whole break, sorry. So until then please review and forgive me for being such a lazy ass. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Well I finally got my ass into motion and managed to write chapter three. I could say any half assed excuse as to why it's been so long but the simple answer is that I was to damn lazy and I lacked the motivation. However I've finally decided to finish what I started, thank you to all those who have been waiting patiently for so long. I would like to answer some of the comments you sent me, first: this will still be a Shelloyd fic, their relationship shall change during the course of the fic but will come about completely near the end. And lastly: I realized that the pace of the story was slow, so to compensate I am going to try writing more and posting more at once. Hopefully... Okay, now on to chapter three! (I do not own Tales of Symphonia nor any of it's character and/or scenarios).**

_Swordsman of Mizuho_

_Ch 3: Of Chosens and teleportation_

By: Taitachi

The dirt of the trail crunched beneath Sheena's shoes as she traversed the road towards Meltokio, tomorrow she would reach the Tetha' alla Bridge and then ultimately Meltokio the day after. Stopping to wipe the sweat from her brow Sheena glanced up at the sun that was glaring down at her.

"Uh, the sun's trying to kill me." At least her purple attire was more airy then her regular clothes.

Sitting to rest beneath the shade of the forest along the road, she thought back to the night three days ago that began her daring venture.

_Flash back_

_Sheena and Lloyd returned to the village at sunset just as the sun dipped behind the mountains, coloring the sky with oranges and purples and leaving the valleys in shadow. As the sun descended further fireflies came out in numbers and the only sound was that of the grasshoppers, overhead the moon became visible as a thin crescent. As the duo reached their house they were surprised to see Tiga waiting for them at the door expectantly. As they reached him Tiga spoke._

_"Sheena, I need to speak with you," then glancing at Lloyd, "In private." _

_"Um, sure." Sheena answered lamely. _

_Confused, Lloyd looked at Tiga. "What about me?"_

_"Stay out here." Tiga said with finality as he crossed his arms._

_"But-!"_

_"Stay!"_

_"Hmph!" Fuming, Lloyd sat in the dirt glaring at Tiga._

_Tiga entered first followed by Sheena, who slapped Lloyd on the back of the head in passing._

_"Oh! What was that for!" Whined Lloyd as he held his tender skull._

_"For acting like a little kid." Sheena answered over her shoulder with a smirk, then turned around and entered after Tiga._

_"Grr!" Lloyd ground his teeth in frustration._



_Moments later Sheena and Tiga were seated in the main room, the table rolled to the side to make the room more business like. Sitting on their knees _**(it's called the seiza position)**_, they sat across from one another. For a while neither spoke, Tiga sat quietly with his eyes closed as if in deep thought while Sheena sat fidgeting nervously. Tiga opened his eyes slowly and then with a flick of his wrist sent a shuriken flying through the air where it lodged itself in the door frame. _

"_Lloyd, stay outside."_

_Tiga's calm, but deceitfully threatening command was followed by the frantic scrambling of feet in the hall way and milliseconds later the slamming of the front door. _

_"Alright, now that Lloyd is no longer eavesdropping lets get down to business."_

_Sheena swallowed nervously but did not let it show._

_"While you and Lloyd were out we received a message from out contact in Meltokio. By royal request we have been asked to take on a assassination."_

_Sheena didn't like where this was going._

_Grudgingly Sheena asked, "What kind of assassination?"_

_Tiga frowned. "I was about to get to that. Sheena, you have been selected by myself and other senior shinobi, to undertake this mission. Your orders are to assassinate the Chosen in the World of Sylvarant."_

_For a moment not a word was spoken. Sheena kept moving her jaw as if to speak but no _

_words came out. After a full minute she found her voice._

"_What the hell?! You want to send me to that Goddess forsaken place?! What kind of mission is that?! How am I even suppose to get there, or back for that matter?!"_

_Tiga waited patiently until Sheena was done with her tirade before he calmly began his explanation. _

_"I think you don't fully understand the scope of this mission Sheena. You have been ordered to assassinate the Chosen of Sylvarant so that our world Tethe' alla may survive. You should be honored to have been selected for such a heroic venture."_

_Sheena was slightly humbled at these words, but retained her flustered mood. _

_"As for getting there, the Royal Academy of Science has prepared a means of transportation using some of the Renegades technology."_

_Sheena blanched at the groups name._

_"Uh, that shady bunch? Are you sure it's safe?"_

_"Considering they are the group who proposed this mission to the King then yes, I do. So will you do it?"_

_For a while Sheena sat silent as she gazed out the window in thought. She watched the movement of the shadows beneath the trees as the wind played with their boughs, she studied the fellow villagers going about their daily business and chatter and she thought about her family. Her unconscious grandfather, her obnoxious brother, and even this man sitting before her. If she accepted this mission, would she ever see them again? But if she didn't accept this mission how could she face her loved ones and not feel like a coward? How could she make up for the hurt she caused the village all those years ago? And what about her professional honor as a shinobi? _

_The silence had settled so heavily in the room that, when Sheena finally spoke, Tiga was momentarily startled._

_"Damn. Looks like I have no choice."_

_Turning from the window, she faced Tiga with conviction her eyes._

_"I, Sheena Fujibayashi, accept the mission to assassinate the Chosen of Sylvarant."_



And so here she was, in the middle of nowhere, traveling to Meltkio, so that she could jump through a rift in time and space and arrive in a world that was rumored to be a barren wasteland.

She smirked slightly to herself.

"Jeez, this has to be one of the craziest mission ever conceived. Thanks a lot Martel!"

As if in response to her outburst thunder clouds could be seen in the distance. A rumble of thunder that sounded like the splitting of the earth reached her ears.

"All right, I'm sorry!"

Slowly the thunder clouds sank beyond the horizon.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Sheena continued on her journey while going over the mission inventory in her head. First she was to travel to Meltokio. Then upon arrival she would meet with a guide who would take her to the Academy. (When she had asked TIga who the guide would be he had only given her a knowing smirk. A flash of red was brought to her mind and she began to stomp along the path). After she arrived to the Academy she was to be debriefed on the world jumping procedure, then, after a good nights rest and stocking up on supplies, she would then travel to the other world. How she was going to get back was another matter, but fear would not keep her from her self respect.

As Sheena continued to walk she began to feel something in her pocket dig into her leg. Stopping she reached into her pocket and withdrew the offending item. Her annoyance softened somewhat as she looked at the trinket Lloyd had given her. It was a small wooden tablet with the kanji for "safe travel" carved into it. Lloyd had given it to her as she left. Her only regret was that she had not told Lloyd where she was going, she and Tiga had thought it was best he didn't know lest he follow her.

Sheena was broken out of her reverie when she herd a sudden snap of a branch in the forest to her left. Tensing herself to fight or run she waited patiently for the unknown presence to reveal itself. After waiting for what seemed like an hour she began to walk again.

"Stupid squirrels."

As she continued on the travel worn path she failed to notice the two sets of eyes that followed her from the safety and obscurity of the forest.

The brown set of eyes looked at the black pair as it scolded it in hushed tones.

"Idiot! What did I say about being quiet!"

"Ummmpphhh."

"Don't give me any of that. Do know what she would have done if she had found us."

Both pairs of eyes pooled their cognitive energies and imagined the numerous and horrible things the purple clad ninja could have inflicted upon them, had they been discovered.

"From now on be careful. Alright?"

"Hmmmppphh."



Just as Sheena predicted, her guide in Meltokio was none other then the flamboyant playboy of Tethe' alla. The one, the only, Zelos Wilder, the Chosen of Tethe' alla. Luckily Sheena had changed back into her more conservative ninja attire before entering the city, but not even that stopped the enthusiastic red head.

"Oh Sheena my honey! It's been far to long!" Zelos declared dramatically as he tried vainly to hug Sheena in front of one of the city's many fountains.

"Back off philanderer." Sheena retorted as she fended of the pink clad man with her "cards of death".

"Ow, that's mean." Zelos pouted slightly with his green eyes, his white head band slipping low.

Sheena's hazel eyes flashed angrily at him.

"Just take me to the Academy already you ass."

Zelos held up his gloved hands as if to ward of her anger.

"Alright, alright. Sheesh, if it was that time of the month you could have just told me."

With that he turned around and began to head towards, what she hoped, was the Academy. Noticing she wasn't following right away Zelos turned around and called back to her.

"Hey hurry up. We don't have time to be fooling around all day."

Suddenly, Sheena felt very tired.



Unfortunately fooling around is exactly what they did, at least Zelos did any way. Instead of taking her straight to the Academy they spent nearly four hours traversing the kingdom's capital. During this time Zelos seemed content to flirt with her and any other woman of any age. He took her through nearly every single area of the city looking at shops, stands, and little holes in the wall. At one stand some old man had asked if Sheena and Zelos were married. Zelos, being Zelos, looped his arm around her waist and replied yes. Of course, Sheena had slammed her heel on his foot and then stomped away angrily.

Despite being 'escorted' by the flirtatious Chosen, Sheena truly enjoyed her time. She had been to Meltokio before but she had never had the time to explore the city. She was amazed at the beauty of the city, the wonderful fountains, crafts and general fanfare of the streets. Little children would run back and forth playing tag as their parents stood at a stand buying groceries. Swordsman conversed over full mugs in the open air bars, about their travels and exploits in distant lands. However Sheena was sobered of the intoxicating atmosphere somewhat when she would catch glimpses of the back streets and alleys. The people occupying them desolate and lonely, the streets themselves reflecting their inhabitants sullen mood. Sheena had asked Zelos about it but he always said to not worry about it. As Sheena continued to travel through the streets of the city she felt her resolve solidify. This is what she was fighting for, for this happiness and the possibility of obtaining happiness.

It was about early afternoon when Zelos abruptly stopped in front of her.

"Okay, here we are."

Looking up Sheena saw the heavy oak doors tower over their heads. Taking a step back she viewed the large stone structure and it's small slim windows. Looking over her shoulder she saw they had passed through a small iron gate into a extremely small courtyard.

_Almost like a prison._

Sheena refocused on the doors as she heard them creak open. Bowing dramatically, Zelos stood to the side of the now open doors.

"Ladies first."

Glaring slightly, Sheena strode through the door quickly before Zelos's hands could touch something they weren't supposed to. Inside the reception area was of medium size and dimly lighted by the slim windows.

"Ah, you must be Sheena?"

Sheena looked to the source of the voice behind the reception desk.

_She's a half-elf._

The half-elf rose from her chair and came around the desk to Sheena.

"This way please."

Silently, Sheena and Zelos followed the half-elf down a set of stone stairs on the left side of the room. At the bottom they entered what appeared to be a laboratory. Books, vials, notes, and mechanical contraptions covered every available surface. Runes and signs were carved on the walls and floors, small golden colored balls rolled through the one on the floor as if by their own will. The whole laboratory was dimly lit like the reception area by the same slim windows.

"This is Professor Zaibac, he will instruct you on the trans-dimensional procedure."

Zeloz gave a whistle at these large and complex words, for which Sheena sharply jabbed him in the side.

Prof. Zaibac, a small half-elf, spent the next hour explaining the whole procedure. (I wont explain it). By the time he was done the sun was starting to set.

"I imagine you'll want to rest up for tomorrow. Best be on your way."

Zelos, of course, attempted to convince Sheena to spend the night at his mansion where she would get the "best sleep ever". Sheena just ignored him as she headed towards her accommodations at the inn.

They parted ways at the door of the inn and for once Zelso didn't say something stupid. Instead he looked at her seriously.

"Hey Sheena, good luck."

Sheena gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

"And make sure nothing happens to that killer rack of yours. Bye!"

In a blink of an eye Zelos turned around and sprinted off with his long hair flying behind him. Sheena stood at the door seething as she contemplated running after him and beating him to pulp. Though she didn't think that would go over well with the Church. Breathing deeply to calm herself, she turned to open the door to the inn. But out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of color on the roof tops across the street that caught her attention. But by the time she turned to look it was gone.

"Huh, does this city have red and green birds?"

Shaking her head, she opened the door and entered the inn's reception area.



Sheena rose early to prepare for the coming day. By the time the sun had just peaked over the horizon and the morning mist was fleeing from the streets, Sheena was packed and ready to go. Walking through the stone streets she breathed in the morning air to calm her nerves. She wasn't exactly happy about jumping between worlds but she knew it was her responsibility. Both as a shinobi and her self respect.

She arrived at the Academy just as shop keepers began to open their doors and the open air markets began to set out their wares. She was greeted again by the same half-elf as yesterday, who led her down into the basement where Prof. Zaibac and his colleagues were fussing over a new rune on one of the floor. It was some time before the scientists noticed her presence.

Prof. Zaibac was the first to turn around. "Sheena, your right on time. We just finished. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Good, good. Come over here, oh and you'll need this."

From his pocket her withdrew a small blue sphere with a golden colored plate.

"Here, put this on the back of your hand."

Sheena did as she was told. Amazingly the gold plate managed to cling to the back of her hand without any support.

"Um, what is this."

"Oh that, that's a-"

"That is an exsphere."

Prof. Zaibac was interrupted by a new voice which stood behind Sheena. Turning around, Sheena sized up the cloaked and hooded figure. The cloaked figure walked past Sheena with a business like step and handed the professor a small package.

"It's good to see you again sir. This is the last item then?"

"Yes. With that trans-dimensional travel should be possible."

"Excellent, excellent."

Excitedly the professor and his colleagues began to put the finishing touches on the rune. Sheena decided that while they were doing that she would find out what exactly an exsphere was.

"Hey, cloaked guy."

"It's rude to refer to people like that."

Sheena ground her teeth. "What do you want me to call you then?"

"Sir would do."

"Alright 'Sir'. What is an exsphere."

The cloaked figure breathed in deeply as if people had asked him that question thousands of times.

"An exsphere is a magical stone that enhances the wearer's natural combat instincts and power. Exspheres can not be placed directly on the skin, otherwise the mana with in the wearers body would run out of control. To prevent this they are mounted on special plates, called Key Crests, that prevent this."

By the time the cloaked man was done with his explanation, the rune the scientists were working on was complete.

"If you'll please step in the circle we'll begin right away."

Sheena did what she was told and stood right in the middle of the rune. Around the edges the scientists were pouring strange liquids and materials into the carved edges.

"Everyone ready?"

The scientists answered Zaibac in unision. "Yes sir."

"Alright, begin the procedure."

Standing in designated spots the half elves began to push magical energy into the outer ring. The magic began to react with the materials as they mixed together and spread through every etch in the rune. The floor beneath Sheena's feet began to glow and suddenly she was in a column of light. Sheena closed her eyes as she thought of her loved ones. Grandpa, Tiga, Lloy-

"Hey you can't be here! Get out!" That sounded like the cloaked guy. Sheana snapped open here eyes just before she was teleported to her destination and caught a pair of brown and black eyes staring back at her.

**Uh, that took forever. If any of you lose patience with me for not writing more I'll understand. By the way, Zaibac is the name of the evil empire in the anime Escaflowne, I used it because it sounds cool. And before I forget, I bet you cant guess you the cloaked man was. Hint: He's explained what an exsphere is a thousand times. Well please R&R. Thanks! **


End file.
